SJRGC Atlantic Trap Championships Sept 1-4, 2016: (28 Photos)

Photo Credits: Mike Smith & Kevin Healey

28.   Labor day weekend 2016 saw the return of the Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Championship return to the St. john's Rod and Gun Club. This annual event moves to different eligible club in Atlantic Canada each year. A small but dedicated crew from SJRGC put in a summer of work preparing for the event, maintaining equipment and getting the club ready for the big event.

27.   Over 50 shooters turned out for the event, many from outside the province from all over Atlantic Canada and from Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan too. Part of running these shoots is having enough ammunition on hand for people that fly in. Bassan placed the order and I picked it up organized distribution at the club once it arrived. Shipping was a story in itself as Amour initially lost the order, but Ross at the Gun Dealer in McAdam NB was fantastic and made sure we were prepared for the shoot!

26.   Another fantastic addition at this shoot was a vendor exhibition by MD Charlton. They are the distributor for Caesar Guerini and Blazar shotguns and other shooting products including Lucas gun oils. They had a great selection of demo guns for people to try our, range gear, hats and more. The guys also brought their factory trained gunsmith to provide repairs, support, and pit stop services to shooters. It was a very welcome addition to the event.

25.   This year the weather cooperated for the whole four days of the shoot with mild winds, cool temperatures and no rain! Thursday was a preliminary practice day with registered targets offered for shooters to practice, Friday was the Preliminary days and official first day of competition, Saturday brought the main event singles, and the event ended Sunday with Doubles and Handicap.

24.   A great crew of from Saskatchewan took part in the shoot including Dwight Smith - President of the Canadian Trapshooting Association, and Dave (Tiger) Williams of Toronto Maple Leafs Fame (pictured here with yours truly). Tiger is an awesome guy, full of stories, is a great sportsman and right there to help out with anything needed to run the shoot.

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18.   Andrea's mother Sandra and her friend ran the kitchen all weekend serving up amazing fresh meals. Thursday's lunch was fish stew. On Friday the Nova Scotia Crew provided fresh Haddock which was pan fried and served with roasted potato, and fresh scallops which the boys cooked to perfection outside. Saturday we had pulled moose sandwiches, and rounded out the event Sunday with Moose Sausage and sandwiches. Needless to say we ate very well and represented Newfoundland and Atlantic Canadian cuisine very well!

17.   Saturday's shooting ended early in preparation for the Shooters Social later that evening, but first the crew organized a couple shooting games. The first was called Missing Out where shooters played to play and could buy in twice as yardage increased.

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15.   This shoot was won by NS shooter Rejean D'Entremont.

14.   The second game was an Annie Oakley shoot. Basically the first shooter fires with 2 more at the ready in case he misses. You can only shoot if the person to your left misses the target, if you hit it the shooter or 2 shooters to your left in that round are eliminated. It came down to the wire with Rejean D'Entremont and our own Troy Coldwell with Troy taking the win.

13.   Saturday Evening we held the Shooters Social at the Under Belly which is a buautiful venue in in the basement of the Yellow Belly on Water Street. Shooters were treated to great NL cuisine with awesome appetizers and a delicious fish and chips station serving up fresh Northern Cod.

12.   The social concluded with a Calcutta Auction which saw good money paid for shooters participating in Sunday's Handicap championship.

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10.   Ontario was well represented by a well rounded group of shooters competing for the open division prizes.

9.   The 2016 AP shoot saw two relatively new shooters break their first 25 straight. On Saturday NS shooter Janaya Nickerson broke her first 25 during the singles competition and had her brand new Caesar Guerini hat blown to bits.

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7.   Sunday our own SJRGC shooter Kevin Healey broke his first 25 straight in the Handicap Event and also had his had shot by his fellow shooters.

6.   This fine crew of Saskatchewan and Ontario Shooters took home the AP 5 man team award.

5.   The end of shooting Sunday brought about the presentation of awards with many shooters taking top honors in a number of categories, class championships etc. You can check out Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association for full results of the shoot.

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2.   Old man Bailey listening with full attention to one of Tiger's stories.

1.   All in all it was a fantastic event. By all accounts the shoot ran very well, our equipment successfully launched nearly 35,000 clay targets over the four days with minimal breakdowns. Props to everyone that helped in the weeks leading up to the shoot. Bassan and the shoot organizers who planned everything to a tee, and to everyone that pitched in to lend a hand during the four day event. This included everything from providing trailers for the MD Charleton crew to picking up garbage & reloading clay targets.